All requests for transfer credit are approved by the Registrar. To ensure that work done elsewhere will be eligible for credit, students must obtain approval for transfer credit before enrolling. These general guidelines apply to all students and the list is not exhaustive.
1. An official transcript, from the institution you did course work at, must be submitted to the Bryn Mawr Registrar’s office for evaluation.
2. Credits transfer; grades do not. Grades from transfer courses or courses taken in study abroad programs are not factored into your Bryn Mawr GPA nor will they show on your Bryn Mawr transcript. You should keep a copy of your trascript for your record.
3. To receive transfer credit for a course, you must receive a grade of at least 2.0 or its equivalent.
4. Transfer credit is only given for courses in the liberal arts.
5. No transfer credit is given for online courses.
6. Individual transfer courses are not listed on your Bryn Mawr transcript. The transcript states only the institution you attended, the dates you attended, and the units awarded.
7. Credit is only awarded for courses taken at accredited colleges and universities. After a student has matriculated at Bryn Mawr, credit is awarded only for courses taken at accredited four-year colleges that confer a bachelor’s degree (see below, Transfer Credit for Matriculated Students).
8. Courses taken during the Fall and Spring academic terms as part of the exchange program with Haverford, Swarthmore, and the University of Pennsylvania are not considered transfer courses. Summer courses taken at Penn are considered transfer courses. (For more information regarding summer courses)
9. One unit of credit at Bryn Mawr is equivalent to four credits (or four “semester hours”) at most schools on the semester system. One unit of credit at Bryn Mawr is also equivalent to six credits (or six “quarter hours”) at most schools on the quarter system.
10. Bryn Mawr's residency requirement states that students must complete 24 units during semesters registered at Bryn Mawr, either during the regular academic year or during the College's summer sessions.
Students entering Bryn Mawr may transfer up to 4 units of credit from college work done during high school, including courses taken at community colleges or two-year colleges. However, no credit is given if that college work counted towards a student's high school graduation requirements.
Credit will be given only for those community college courses taken before the student enrolled at Bryn Mawr. Students should complete and have their Guidance Counselor or Head of School sign and reutrn a Courses Taken Concurrent with High School Enrollment form to our Registrar's Office.
Once a student has matriculated at Bryn Mawr, credit is given only for courses taken at four-year colleges or universities that confer a bachelor’s degree. Before enrolling in any courses at another institution, a student should consult with her Dean and with the Registrar and should complete a transfer credit approval form.
Students who matriculated prior to August 2011 may satisfy all or part of the Divisional and Quantitative requirements via transfer credits. However, those who entered Bryn Mawr in August 2011 or later will not be able to fulfill the Approaches, Foreign Language, Emily Balch Seminar or Quantitative and Math requirements through transfer courses.
Any student who wishes to use a transfer course towards her major must consult her major adviser in advance. Departments very seldom permit students to count transfer credits as 300-level courses in their majors.
A student who wishes to receive credit for a semester or a year away from Bryn Mawr as a full-time student at another institution in the United States must have the institution and her program approved in advance by her Dean, Major Adviser and other appropriate departments. The institution and courses must meet the general guidelines outlined above.
Normally, a student will receive one unit of Bryn Mawr credit for every 4 credits completed at schools on the semester system and for every six credits completed at schools on the quarter system. For example, a student who successfully completes four 3-credit semester-long liberal arts courses with grades of C (2.0) or better at another four-year institution should expect to receive three units of Bryn Mawr credit. Similarly, a student who successfully completes five 3-credit semester-long liberal arts courses with grades of C or better at another four-year institution should expect to receive four units of Bryn Mawr credit.
A student who plans foreign study during the academic year must obtain the approval of the Foreign Study Committee in addition to that of her dean, major adviser and other appropriate departments. Students must enroll in a normal full-time program during their time away. For more information, consult the Study Abroad website: http://www.brynmawr.edu/oip/BMCSAPolicies.html#Academic.
A student who wishes to receive credit for summer school work must obtain advance approval of her plans from her dean and the Registrar and present to the Registrar an official transcript within one semester of completion of the course. A total of no more than four units earned in summer school may be counted toward the degree; of these, no more than two units may be earned in any one summer.
One
Bryn Mawr unit equals 4 credit hours. Many courses at other
institutions are only 3 credit hours. However, if the summer course you
wish to take is 3 credit hours on the semester system and at least four
weeks long, Bryn Mawr will "round up" the course and accept it as equal
to 4 credit hours. If the summer course you wish to take is offered on
the quarter system, the class has to be 5 credit hours in order for the
credit to be transferred towards your Bryn Mawr degree.
Credit for work completed before matriculating at Bryn Mawr will be calculated as described in the General Guidelines above. Ordinarily, the residency requirement means that transfer students will be required to earn all their remaining credits in residence. For transfers admitted with junior class standing, the residency requirement is correspondingly adjusted from 24 to 16.
Transfers admitted as sophomores will require the permission of the Special Cases Committee to undertake study abroad. The student will be expected to demonstrate a compelling educational rationale for including study abroad in her major work plan.
McBrides entering Bryn Mawr may transfer up to 16 units of credit for college work taken at community colleges, two-year colleges, or four-year colleges. However, no credit is given if that college work counted towards a student's high school graduation requirements.
Credit will be given only for those community college or two-year college courses taken before the student enrolled at Bryn Mawr.
The residency requirement for McBrides is 16 units.